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Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 17, 2008 10:07:42 GMT -5
Eaten Alive-1980
Full review will be posted Monday.
Deepstar Six-1989
Finally got around to getting this one uncut, which for years I had only seen this one through a Sci-Fi Channel airing and really wanted to rectify that. Felt just like a normal cheesefest that I enjoy: not a lot of suspense, a ton of action, an obviously-rubber monster with an impossible design and a way about it that screams cheesy knock-off. Not that any of those are bad, but there's merely the feeling that there should've been something more to it which holds it down. It's decent enough, but that does hold it down somewhat, plus it's a little longer than I remembered.
7.5/10
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Post by ZapRowsdower on Oct 17, 2008 18:13:52 GMT -5
The Lost Boys (1987, Joel Schumacher)
Schumacher is a hit-and-miss director, and this is without a doubt one of his strongest hits. The Lost Boys was funny, scary and overall good fun. Even if it is very 80's, it's not distractingly 80's. Death by stereo! 9/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Oct 18, 2008 9:23:08 GMT -5
THE BEAST WITHIN (1982)
A woman gives birth to child who is the result of a rape by a creature. Years later, this seemingly normal-looking teen is on the prowl to find his own victim to breed with.
Pretty lame, but has decent early 80's "transformation effects" ala THE HOWLING or ALTERED STATES.
4.5/10
HALLOWEEN II (1981)
Sequel to Carpenter's hit about escaped mental patient, Michael Myers, picks up exactly where the first movie left off. This time Myers stalks Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) at the hospital she's taken to after his initial attack. Along the way, lots of hospital staff are knocked off.
A higher body-count and some good deaths, but, even with this being only the first sequel, it's already starting to have a feeling of "been there-done that".
7/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 19, 2008 10:20:06 GMT -5
The Thing-1982
This wasn't that bad, but frankly, watching it censored on TV and stuck in a 2-hour time slot does this one considerable damage. The pacing is off considerably, the gore is nuetered, the suspense is mostly sapped and it's a completely different movie. As a whole, complete film, this one does work with all those elements pulling together into a full-on, gore-filled, special effects laced film that packs a ton of suspense and a couple jumps into it. One of the better horrors from the time-period.
9/10 regularly, but a 6.5/10 for the censored viewing.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter-1984
I've always thought of this one as the best of the Paramount series, and it still manages to hold on despite having a strong competitor in Part 2. Yes, there's a couple of flaws to this (the brother appearing with time-weathered photographs of the disappearance of his sister 2 days earlier; the lake's placement within the confines of the story is always changing and many of the kills within the house are loud, which no one is able to hear over a hundred year old silent stag film?) but many of these aren't even noticeable that much and don't even impact the film that much. The slasher elements here are impressive, with Jason remaining a hulking brute with an eye for the inventive, brutal kills he's known for, the suspense is very high and it ends with perhaps the best 'Final Girl' chase scene in the genre. Tons to like with minor, negligible flaws equals a highly enjoyable entry.
9.5/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Oct 20, 2008 7:38:12 GMT -5
The Thing-1982 This wasn't that bad, but frankly, watching it censored on TV and stuck in a 2-hour time slot does this one considerable damage. The pacing is off considerably, the gore is nuetered, the suspense is mostly sapped and it's a completely different movie. Watching a movie like this on regular commercial tv should be a crime. Especially for a hardcore horror fan like yourself.  RE-ANIMATOR (1985) Another one I initially saw at a drive-in when it was first released and hadn't seen again since. A medical student and his girlfriend become involved with another student who has created a fluid which can bring the dead back to life. Of course things don't go as planned or there would be no movie. This was actually better than I remembered and I can see how it's maintained it's cult status. Pretty good as a horror film, plenty of blood and gore, and then at about the halfway mark it becomes hilariously campy. 7.5/10 |
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Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 20, 2008 10:04:29 GMT -5
The Thing-1982 This wasn't that bad, but frankly, watching it censored on TV and stuck in a 2-hour time slot does this one considerable damage. The pacing is off considerably, the gore is nuetered, the suspense is mostly sapped and it's a completely different movie. Watching a movie like this on regular commercial tv should be a crime. Especially for a hardcore horror fan like yourself. It counted for this, that's what I care more about.  ;D |
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Post by ZapRowsdower on Oct 21, 2008 2:44:12 GMT -5
Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981, Steve Miner)
Ah, 80's slashers - everyone's guilty pleasure. A worthy follow-up to Friday the 13th brings Jason back to life to dispatch of some more vice-filled camp counselors. The camera-work was surprisingly well-done and the tension was pretty damn good. Now, I'm not as familiar with this series as everyone else is (I've always been more of a Michael Myers fan), but when does Jason begin to don the iconic Hockey mask? Two movies without (which are disputably the best ones in the series), one begins to wonder what made that thing so popular to begin with. 7/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Oct 21, 2008 7:48:03 GMT -5
Friday the 13th: Part 2 Now, I'm not as familiar with this series as everyone else is (I've always been more of a Michael Myers fan), but when does Jason begin to don the iconic Hockey mask? Two movies without (which are disputably the best ones in the series), one begins to wonder what made that thing so popular to begin with. 7/10 If I remember correctly, he first wears the hockey mask in the next movie, Part 3. That was the first, and only, FRIDAY THE 13th movie I saw in a theater, not counting FREDDY VS. JASON. And it was in 3D. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Oct 21, 2008 9:34:48 GMT -5
ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST aka ZOMBIE 3 (1980)
Misleading title as this is actually more of a cannibal movie than a zombie movie.
Lame rip-off.
2/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 21, 2008 10:06:24 GMT -5
Friday the 13th: Part 2 Now, I'm not as familiar with this series as everyone else is (I've always been more of a Michael Myers fan), but when does Jason begin to don the iconic Hockey mask? Two movies without (which are disputably the best ones in the series), one begins to wonder what made that thing so popular to begin with. 7/10 If I remember correctly, he first wears the hockey mask in the next movie, Part 3. That was the first, and only, FRIDAY THE 13th movie I saw in a theater, not counting FREDDY VS. JASON. And it was in 3D. Correctamundo. Hockey mask comes in at Part 3, a slightly underrated entry that suffers mainly from the greatness it's sandwiched between. |
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Post by Quorthon on Oct 21, 2008 17:55:01 GMT -5
ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST aka ZOMBIE 3 (1980) Misleading title as this is actually more of a cannibal movie than a zombie movie. Lame rip-off. 2/10 That movie is pretty awful. Fulci's previous entry, Zombi 2 wasn't spectacular, but it's leagues ahead of Zombi 3. I never even bothered with the fourth movie. However, I recently watched: Fright Night Critters 1 Gremlins (better count, dammit, it was for "Halloween movie day" with my son) Poltergeist 1 Ghostbusters 2 (I'll understand if this doesn't count... maybe!) and my iconic favorite: THE EVIL DEAD All from the 80's, thank you very much. Oh, and also, bizarro 80's Sci-Fi Horror alien invasion flick, Strange Invaders. |
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Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 22, 2008 10:13:05 GMT -5
Just so you guys know, there's actually a fifth one: Killing Birds from Joe D'Amato that's actually bad. The other three are actually pretty good, but seeing as how I'm the person who says anything that came from Europe beats everything produced anywhere else, meaning I actually loved Zombi Holocaust a lot, you should take that with a grain of salt.
Cutting Class-1989
Disposable slasher, made during the cheesy period from the late 80s where everything was taking a direct lift from Freddy by not having much of a threatening killer by having a light and goofy atmosphere. That pretty much spoils this one, as it never really feels thrilling or terrifying except during the final chase through the school, which is actually pretty nicely done like almost all slashers are (come to think of it, I can't really think of a slasher that had a weak final showdown, oh wait: see below) and the lame kills, though bloody, do serve to make it somewhat watchable, but for slasher-completists or cheese-fans only.
6.5/10
The Burning-1981
Far more impressive slasher, one that generally rates amongst the top of the genre and remains there for good reason: this is the kind of slasher that deserves it's reputation. It's cookie-cut, sure, but that doesn't mean it doesn't do the tradtional elements well, which are the case here. The stalking and suspense are nicely done, the kills are brutal and gory, the killer is memorable, the nudity is nicely delivered by those well-qualified to do so, and the flimsy excuse for a rampage manages to support a 75-minute+ running time, pretty much what I require. Suffers from a weak showdown (one of the rare ones in the genre that's not actually that good) but it's forgiven for doing the other things right.
9/10
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Post by ZapRowsdower on Oct 22, 2008 11:12:32 GMT -5
Child's Play (1988, Tom Holland)
Silly, campy fun. I don't know if that's what they were going for, but it's difficult to take a movie seriously when the six-year-old has the most bad-ass line in the entire movie - "This IS the end, friend." Death scenes are cool and the effects are decent. And let's face it, Chucky is just an entertaining character to begin with. "What an ugly doll!" "Fuck you!" 7/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Oct 22, 2008 18:17:36 GMT -5
However, I recently watched: Fright Night Critters 1 Gremlins (better count, dammit, it was for "Halloween movie day" with my son) Poltergeist 1 Ghostbusters 2 (I'll understand if this doesn't count... maybe!) and my iconic favorite: THE EVIL DEAD All from the 80's, thank you very much. Oh, and also, bizarro 80's Sci-Fi Horror alien invasion flick, Strange Invaders. The only two that aren't going to count this time are FRIGHT NIGHT and CRITTERS because you already posted once before, back on the first page of this genre, that you'd watched these. As for the rest of them, they all count. All-out comedies, like GHOSTBUSTERS and dark comedies like GREMLINS are fine. As long as it's based in horror, and from the 80's, it's all good. In fact, both are on my list to watch. Though I'm not sure I'll definitely get to them. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Oct 24, 2008 9:47:24 GMT -5
HELLRAISER (1987)
Horror writer, Clive Barker's feature directorial debut is pretty impressive. A gory, nasty little tale of a man who solves an ancient puzzle box, which is really a gateway to hell. After he is accidentally brought back to life, as a fleshless body, by his brother's blood, he is kept alive, and his body further completed, due to human sacrifices by his ex-lover, his brother's wife. Also on his trail are the Cenobites, creepy, leather-clad demons, who are on a mission to bring him back to their sadomasochistic hell.
Though it's starting to look a bit dated, it's still one of the best and most original straight-forward horror movies of the Eighties. Unlike a lot of other horror flicks, it goes strictly for the horror and not for laughs or camp.
The lead Cenobite (Doug Bradley), or Pinhead, as he would come to be known in the sequels, is as iconic an 80's horror figure, as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers.
8.5/10
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;D
